Never before seen phenomenon in South Pacific Ocean .

A yacht was traveling in the South Pacific when the crew came

across a weird sight. Look at these photos and try to imagine........

the thrill of experiencing this phenomenon.

A BEACH?
No! This is not a beach.

Note from Helen: These are not "stones" - it is pumice!!

It's Volcanic Stones floating on the water.

WHERE IS THE VOLCANO?

AN UNBELIEVABLE SIGHT, SO I HAD TO TAKE PICTURES BECAUSE NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE IT!

THE WAKE FROM MY YACHT.
WE STAYED ON THE EDGE OF THE WATER.

THEN THIS WAS SPOTTED:
ASH AND STEAM RISING FROM THE OCEAN.

And, while WE were watching,

A plume of black ash, a HUGE CLOUD.
COVERING EVERYTHING IN RED, EVEN THIS FAR AWAY.

THEN THE SKY TURNS BLACK WITH ASH AND THE OCEAN TURNSGOLD FROM THE SUN'S REFLECTION.

MORE ERUPTIONS; ASH AND CLOUDS.

OUT OF THE OCEAN, MOUNTAIN PEAKS ARISE !

MORE ERUPTIONS; ASH AND CLOUDS. —

THEN MOUNTAIN PEAKS RISE HIGHER WITHIN MINUTES.

AND A BRAND-NEW ISLAND IS FORMED !

CREATION OF MOUNTAINS !

CAN ! YOU IMAGINE THE THRILL OF BEING THE FIRST AND ONLY PEOPLE TO WITNESS A NEW ISLAND BEING CREATED WHERE THERE WAS NOTHING THERE BEFORE?
--
Nature!

Ready for your close up? Photographer snaps elephants, tigers and lions from just a few FEET away

Brad Wilson captured the wild animals portraits by offering them snacks as he inched towards them
Animals are trained not to attack and are normally used in films

PUBLISHED: 17:14 GMT, 24 November 2012 | UPDATED: 19:55 GMT, 24 November 2012

While some may say never work with children or animals, photographer Brad Wilson decided to ignore this pearl of wisdom.

The snapper wanted to work with something 'a little less predictable' and certainly achieved that, by bringing in hungry wild animals and taking their portrait.

Mr Wilson brought in hungry mountain lions, cheetahs and orangutans, who were trained not to attack humans, and using their favourite types of food managed to take their photograph in a studio by rewarding them with snacks.

Keeping an eye out: An elephant stares into the lense in graphic close up as part of Brad Wilson's collection

Detailed: The close up of this mountain lion shows its beauty in close up

Almost human? This
orangutan's face is almost
human as it looks into the
camera

Roar: This Siberian
tiger lets out a roar under
the keen eye of Brad Wilson

Almost human? This orangutan's face seems almost human as it looks into the camera, while a Siberian tiger lets out a roar under the keen eye of photographer Wilson

He began by calling wildlife sanctuaries and handlers that provide animals for Hollywood movies, he told Petapixel.

The photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said the most difficult part was 'pre-production' of his ambitious idea.

He said: 'Trying to find the animals I could bring into the studio, find the right trainers to come with these animals, and even just to find a space that could contain an elephant, contain a giraffe - and that was a big part of it.'

Once he had the animals he needed, he signed large insurance policies and liability contracts so, if an animal died during a shoot, Mr Wilson owed $500,000, the website reported.

He says, technically, the animals are considered trained, although 'not trained in the sense that a dog is trained... They are basically trained to not come out on to the set and try to attack you; beyond that, they are really going to do what they want to do.'

He would allow them to sit on the set - sometimes while held by their trainer - and then inch up until he managed to take the perfect picture of them.

He said despite the chaos around the situation, he aimed to find the perfect moment where he captured the animal.

The photographer wanted to achieve a sense of isolation with his wild subjects, he told the website.

The images - entitled Affinity - were the stunning results of his work, giving a close up view more normally gleaned from zoom lenses in the wild - all from a 90×120-foot sound stage in a Los Angeles studio lot.